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Herd-health cost can be a positive for cattlemen |
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By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition |
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July 3, 2003 -- The importance of the overall herd health, including cow/calf productivity, is a necessary factor that many cattlemen are being told that they need to consider. One of the various aspects to look at is the cost benefit of the health actions taken, which includes going to a veterinarian for help. Dr. Dan Stafford, DVM, of Shiner, Texas discussed these issues during the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas' (ICA) cattlemen's college. The college was part of the ICA's 29th Annual Convention and Trade Show, which took place June 19-21 in Waco. "I have worked at several ranches, so I am not only looking at the veterinarian aspect but I am also looking at your aspect as well," explained Stafford. "Many times vets don't always get the big picture that you look at." Stafford said that cow health depends on location. A rancher wants to find a health professional that will aid him or her in making management decisions that are best for cattle. "You have to look at many aspects when deciding what management plan works best. You need to look at the history of the herd. You want to know the cost benefit on everything you do." He stated that the reason that ranchers should de-worm cows is because it's beneficial in the end. "Keeping cattle healthy is expensive, time consuming, and labor intensive. Most importantly, though, is that it needs to make you money. Look at what you should spend money on instead of just doing it." A lot of times external parasites affect the cattle more than internal parasite, he explained. Fly control affects their weight gain by at least 15 to 20 pounds. "There are many fly control methods to think about. Insect growth regulators are easy to use, but are expensive. Tags are effective but they have to be removed to avoid resistance. Topicals are effective and they can be rotated. The point is to rotate a product to avoid resistance." When dealing with nutrition, the cattle must be on a positive plane of nutrition to perform to the best of their ability. Without adequate nutrition, the cattle won't be as good as they could be. "Bio-security is also important to consider. Remember closed herds have less disease and virgin bulls don't bring in diseases." Other processes to think about doing include dehorning, castration, implants, and individual ID. "I think producers should be rewarded for dehorning their cattle. With castration, I believe it will be less stressful if the calves are castrated at a young age. On the individual ID process, not only should cows have this done, but calves as well." The advantage to marketing, according to Stafford, is more information can be shared between all those involved in the industry. "This also deals with County of Origin Labeling (COOL). It's coming, like it or not." He said when dealing with COOL look at the estimates of the cost of implementation versus the benefits. "Calves born this spring may die needing an ID. I think the best thing to do is get what we can from this (COOL). "You need to figure out what marketing strategies work for you. You must find someone you can work with. Networking can be invaluable to you because you can talk to more people and find more alternatives to what you are doing. Right now we are in a positive part of the cycle in the cattle business. We need to be prepared for the negative part of it." Stafford reminded cattlemen not to forget their veterinarian throughout this process. "We are not just a fireman for you to use when you need us. We are here to help. We can add value to help you make money. We can help with your marketing decisions. Don't over-utilize us, though, by calling us for everything. There are some things that you can do on your own and can, in turn, save you money." He said the bottom line is the value of cents per day and dollars per pound equals the cost of doing business. |
